North Carolina is home to the longest continuous barbecue tradition on the North American mainland. Authoritative, spirited, and opinionated (in the best way), Holy Smoke is a passionate exploration of the lore, recipes, traditions, and people who have helped shape North Carolina's signature slow-food dish. Three barbecue devotees, John Shelton Reed, Dale Volberg Reed, and William McKinney, trace the origins of North Carolina 'cue and the emergence of the heated rivalry between Eastern and Piedmont styles. They provide detailed instructions for cooking barbecue at home, along with recipes for the traditional array of side dishes that should accompany it. The final section of the book presents some of the people who cook barbecue for a living, recording firsthand what experts say about the past and future of North Carolina barbecue. Filled with historic and contemporary photographs showing centuries of North Carolina's "barbeculture," as the authors call it, Holy Smoke is one of a kind, offering a comprehensive exploration of the Tar Heel barbecue tradition.

In North Carolina Barbecue, Bob Garner takes us on a delectable journey across the state in search of the best examples of this distinctive North Carolina delicacy.

The definitive guide to one of the most iconic barbecue traditions—Carolina-style chopped pork—from the third generation pitmaster of Sam Jones BBQ and the legendary Skylight Inn, featuring more than 20 family recipes for large-batch barbecue, sides, and desserts. In the world of barbecue, Carolina-style pork is among the most delicious and obsessed-over slow-cooked meats. Yet no one has told the definitive story of North Carolina barbecue—until now. In Whole Hog BBQ, Sam Jones and Daniel Vaughn recount the history of the Skylight Inn, which opened in 1947, and share step-by-step instructions for cooking a whole hog at home—from constructing a pit from concrete blocks to instructions for building a burn barrel—along with two dozen classic family recipes including cornbread, coleslaw, spare ribs, smoked turkey, country-style steak, the signature burger, and biscuit pudding.

"John Shelton Reed compiles reviews, essays, magazine articles, op-eds, and book extracts from his more than twenty-year obsession with the history and culture of barbecue. Together these pieces constitute a broad look at the cultural, culinary, historical, and social aspects of an American institution. A lover of tradition whose study of regional distinctions has made him prize and defend them, Reed writes with conviction on what "real" barbecue looks, smells, and tastes like. He delves into the history of barbecue and even the origins of the word barbecue itself. Other topics include contemporary trends in barbecue, Carolina 'cue and other regional varieties, and a pair of recipes daring readers to master their own backyard pits"--

John Shelton Reed's Barbecue celebrates a southern culinary tradition forged in coals and smoke. Since colonial times southerners have held barbecues to mark homecomings, reunions, and political campaigns; today barbecue signifies celebration as much as ever. In a lively and amusing style, Reed traces the history of southern barbecue from its roots in the sixteenth-century Caribbean, showing how this technique of cooking meat established itself in the coastal South and spread inland from there. He discusses how choices of meat, sauce, and cooking methods came to vary from one place to another, reflecting local environments, farming practices, and history. Reed hopes to preserve the South's barbecue traditions by providing the home cook with fifty-one recipes for many classic varieties of barbecue and for the side dishes, breads, and desserts that usually go with it. Featured meats range from Pan-Southern Pork Shoulder to Barbecued Chicken Two Ways to West Texas Beef Ribs, while rubs and sauces include Memphis Pork Rub, Piedmont Dip, and Lone Star Sauce and Mop. Cornbread, hushpuppies, and slaw are featured side dishes, and Dori's Peach Cobbler and Pig-Pickin' Cake provide a sweet finish. This book will put southerners in touch with their heritage and let those who aren't southerners pretend that they are.

Armed with more than 175 budget-friendly, quick and easy recipes made with everyday ingredients, you get to minimize time and effort preparing healthful foods without sacrificing flavor! Straightforward explanations and a comprehensive collection of visual guides will teach you which foods are the best choices to mitigate chronic illnesses, including autoimmune disease. Real-life practical tips on everything from cleaning out your pantry and easy ingredient swaps to reinventing leftovers and DIY flavor combinations will help you go from theory to practice effortlessly. Even better, twelve 1-week meal plans with shopping lists take all the guesswork out of your weekly trip to the grocery store! With half of all Americans taking at least one prescription medication (and 20% of us taking three or more!), there is a clear need for something to change. Combined with growing scientific evidence pointing to the Standard American Diet being at least partly to blame for our declining health, it's time for a dietary shift toward nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory whole foods that promote health, rather than undermine it. In the first part of The Healing Kitchen, you'll learn all about what foods to eat and why, based on an ancestral diet template with contemporary scientific underpinnings. With a collection of practical tips and visual guides to distill this information into simple real-life actions that you can implement easily in your home, this book is the closest thing to a guarantee of success that you can have when embarking on a Paleo diet healing protocol. The Healing Kitchen features more than 175 mouthwatering recipes that make eating healthful foods easy enough to fit even into the busiest of lives, while being so tasty you'll likely forget you're on a special diet to begin with! Compliant with the Paleo autoimmune protocol, every meal is budget-conscious, requires a minimal time commitment, uses no special equipment, and needs no hard-to-find ingredients—yet, the whole family will love it! There's no need to suffer with bland or boring foods on your journey towards optimal health—and The Healing Kitchen is all about enjoying tasty food while nourishing your body. The recipes span the gamut from easy peasy mains and simple sides to breakfast favorites and timeless treats. Even better, each recipe is labelled by cooking strategy, so you can easily identify meals that are one-pot, use 5 ingredients or less, take 20 minutes or less, can be made ahead, feature a slow cooker, or are on-the-go foods—to make planning your day effortless! The Healing Kitchen also includes twelve weekly meal plans, each with a shopping list, to help you get completely organized in your kitchen! Even better, the selection of thematic meal plans home in on your individual needs. Can't spend more than 20 minutes cooking at a time? The 20-minute-or-less meal plan makes sure your time spent preparing food is as minimal as possible. Always eating on the run? The on-the-go meal plan will suit your needs perfectly. Have a whole crew you need to satisfy? The family-favorites meal plan will please kids and grown-ups alike. Want to do all of your cooking for the week in one afternoon? Two batch-cook meal plans complete with exclusive web links to companion how-to cooking videos will help you get it done! The Healing Kitchen is your best tool for turning your kitchen into healing central—all while minimizing your time commitment, keeping your food budget reined-in, and enjoying bite after delicious bite of meals to nourish and thrive.

The Ultimate Book of BBQ builds on the expertise of Southern Living magazine to create the definitive barbecue and outdoor grilling guide. The book features more than 200 of the highest-rated Southern Living recipes for barbecued meats and sides, plus pit-proven tips, techniques, and secrets for year-round smoking, grilling and barbecuing. With full color, step-by-step photos and mouthwatering recipes, this book includes everything the home cook needs to achieve first-rate backyard barbecue. Proven cooking techniques and equipment, expert advice from award-winning pitmasters, and a Rainy Day BBQ chapter with stovetop, oven, and slow-cooker options make this Southern Living's most definitive book on barbecue.